She hit the headlines for turning into a head Mean Girl at the MTV Video Music Awards last month.

But friend Ed Sheeran has defended Taylor Swift, saying that her foul-mouthed ‘shut the f***’ jibe was not aimed at her ex-boyfriend Harry Styles, but at Selena Gomez instead.

The I Knew You Were Trouble hitmaker was spotted mouthing the insult while her ex-boyfriend Harry was on stage with his One Direction band mates, but Ed has claimed she was actually swearing at her best friend.

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According to Cosmopolitan magazine, at a recent press conference Ed insisted Taylor was directing the jibe at Selena – who was sat next to her – after she expressed doubt at her ability to pick up a prize at the ceremony.

And the 23-year-old star apparently knew her comments would be misinterpreted to be directed at Harry.

Awkward all-round: Harry was later seen biting his tongue as Taylor appeared to make a reference to him during her acceptance speech

A likely story: Ed Sheeran claims Taylor was merely reassuring her friend Selena that she was going to win the award for Best Pop Video

Concerns: Ed claims that Selena was worried Miley Cyrus – who publicly embarrassed herself with a cringe-inducing performance on We Can’t Stop – was going to win her award

Ed added: ‘Taylor was like, “I think I messed up.”‘

Following the incident, Taylor was spotted with Harry and the A Team singer was forced to keep the peace – a role he is said to frequently adopt when he’s around his two friends.

It was previously claimed: ‘Ed made sure to keep them separate.’

According to Us Magazine, things were ‘super awkward’ between the pair, but Ed was called to appease the situation.

Trouble: Harry Styles at the 2013 MTV VMAs were Taylor supposedly made repeated digs at her ex

An insider also said: ‘Ed made sure to keep them separate.’

It is reported that the neutral role is one he has to adopt quite often when it comes to his mutual friends, who split in January after a three-month romance.

Harry’s band mates have leaped to his defence after Taylor also appeared to dedicate her own Best Female Video trophy – for I Knew You Were Trouble – to her ex-boyfriend, whom she has admitted she wrote the song about.

Liam Payne previously said: ‘I just thought it was a bit not needed. I mean, you just won an award, it’s like, concentrate on yourself … Hashtag get over it.’

Doomed: Taylor would go on to write I Knew You Were Trouble, said to be aimed at her one-time boyfriend Harry Styles